Chapter 3
The cemetery was located in a remote area to begin with. Leon was confident that there were no ghosts around, but the rumors of wolves lurking nearby remained uncertain. The woman, soaked after being pulled out from the river, was injured and unable to walk far. Given the distance and the desolation of the place, it was highly unlikely that anyone would come to her rescue. Spending a night there, with her car keys thrown into the river and her cell phone shattered, would be more agonizing than death.
Unfortunately for her, Leon was determined to punish her for her ungratefulness.
Leon walked away.
"You jerk! Don't just leave me here!" the woman tried to chase after Leon, but her efforts were in vain as he stormed off. She cursed wildly and felt incredibly dejected. She never expected that a dignified young woman like her would suffer such mistreatment at the hands of an ordinary person.
"B*stard! Once I find out who you are, I sure as hell will make you pay!" the woman, whose name was Iris Young, shouted.
As soon as she said that, Leon firmly decided to ignore her, although he felt a little reluctant earlier.
When Iris saw Leon disappear from her sight, she felt like crying, but somehow she couldn't shed a single tear. The heel of her high heel snapped, and she shivered from the cold wind, her body still wet. She looked around warily, sensing the eerie atmosphere of her surroundings. Even if there were no wolves, the cemetery still held an air of supernatural mystery.
She despised Leon with every fiber of her being, never having experienced such mistreatment in her pampered life as the eldest daughter in her family.
Meanwhile, Leon quickly regretted his actions within a minute or two of walking away. He was a good person with a good heart. Without that goodness, he wouldn't have saved old Elder Manson all those years ago or endured the torment inflicted by the Mansons. When he lashed out at Iris earlier, he was merely pouring out his resentment toward Marilyn and Helen onto the innocent Iris. As he walked, the gentle wind helped calm him down.
He thought to himself, 'She's just a girl. It would cross the line for me to do that to her. Even if there are no wolves or ghosts around, staying out here all night would give her a bad cold. If anything bad were to happen to her, my conscience would torment me for the rest of my life. Scaring her a little should be enough. I shouldn't leave her here for the entire night.'
Leon turned around and went to find her.
But as soon as he arrived at the spot where he left Iris, she was nowhere to be seen.
Leon became anxious. He searched high and low but found nothing except her high heels.
It wasn't a good sign.
Leon knew that Iris was in trouble, and he soon heard Iris's faint cry for help. He ran in the direction of the sound, his anger resurfacing. It turned out that the two thugs from before had returned, and killing Iris was no longer their only agenda. Anyone could see the lustful desire in their eyes when they saw Iris, wet and dripping.
By the time Leon found her, Iris had already been partially stripped. Without thinking, Leon rushed to kick the men, then noticed that Iris was almost completely exposed. Despite her efforts to cover herself, her glowing fairness shone through. Leon couldn't help but appreciate her stunning figure, which surpassed Marilyn's.
"Are you alright?"
Filled with guilt, Leon took off his clothes and threw them to Iris, so she could cover herself.
Iris hurriedly covered herself with the clothes, but she felt angry and helpless when she saw that her savior was Leon. Her hand instinctively wanted to slap him in the face, but as she glanced to the side, she saw something that made her shout instead.
"Be careful!" she warned, but it was already too late.
The thug in the black suit, a robustly-built man, towered over Leon. Leon, with his ordinary build, couldn't block the man's attack. With a powerful kick, the thug sent Leon flying several meters away. He then retrieved the dagger he had dropped earlier and sneered.
"Trying to get yourself killed?"
The man in the black suit stepped on Leon's chest, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
Behind him, the other man, who had been kicked away by Leon, urged, "Marco, the Youngs are powerful. They'll track us down soon. We can't waste any more time. Deal with them and don't make a single mistake!"
Marco thought somewhat unhappily, 'That's rich, coming from you.' After all, they would have killed Iris had the other guy not given in to his lustful impulses.
But it wasn't the time to argue about who was right. Marco immediately stabbed Leon's chest with the dagger.
Blood splattered everywhere!
With his last breath, Leon gritted his teeth, fiercely grabbed Marco's thigh, and shouted at Iris.
"Run! My life's not worth much. Save yourself! Don't worry about me!"
Leon smiled bitterly at Iris before his impending death. Deep down, as angry as he was, he remained the honest Leon in his final moments.
He resolved that he wouldn't be that kind of person again in his next life.
Leon's bitter smile encompassed a myriad of emotions: sourness, desolation, and despair.
Iris sat paralyzed on the ground, her face pale. She seemed to see Leon's inner fragility and sadness through his smile, revealing a vulnerability that contrasted with his earlier strength.
Iris didn't try to escape, knowing it would be futile once Leon was gone.
Seeing Leon's death, Iris felt a profound sadness. Despite the way he had treated her earlier, she couldn't help but feel sorrow when she saw him sacrifice his life to save her.
Simultaneously, blood gushed from Leon's chest, staining the pendant hanging around his neck.
No one noticed the white glow emanating from the pendant as it entered Leon's body through the wound.
'I am an ancestor of the Wolf family, my renown pales not against that of legendary deities. Should fate befall any one of my descendants, they shall inherit what is contained within me...'
As he was about to die, a rush of information flooded Leon's mind.
Moments later, it felt like he was being drawn toward the light. His pale face turned abnormally red, and an unknown power surged through his body.
"You're next, Iris!"
The man in the black suit sneered and approached Iris with the dagger.
Iris remained frozen on the ground, her expression filled with despair and grief.
"Behind you!" the other man angrily shouted, but it was unfortunately too late.
Leon picked up the dagger from the ground, suddenly stood up, and stabbed the man in the black suit from behind.
"How...?"
The man in the black suit turned his head abruptly, his eyes wide with shock, before collapsing to the ground. He was dead before he could even think, 'How did you come back to life?'